


The Worst Fake Bad Boyfriend Ever

by AgentOfShip



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: All The Tropes, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fake Dating, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Jemma is peak obliviousness in this one, Sharing a Bed, everyone loves Fitz, fake engagement, oblivious science nerds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-06-28 16:55:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19816525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentOfShip/pseuds/AgentOfShip
Summary: Jemma's mum keeps pressuring her about boyfriends, marriage and babies and Daisy suggests bringing home a terrible fake boyfriend to get her off her back. Jemma decides the best choice for that is her annoying Scottish engineer colleague. But is he really?Based on a tumblr post suggesting the ultimate tropey plot that I couldn't resist : "I was supposed to fake date and break-up with you but you were so annoying I proposed instead and now I have to marry you."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by @LibbyWeasley who also helped me plot this whole thing a lot :) 
> 
> Six chapters planned, three already written, no fixed posting schedule.

"Oh yes mum, I have met plenty of nice people since the last time we talked ... Oh, you mean men specifically?" Jemma let out mock-surprised as she moved her phone off her ear for a second. Ten minutes and five seconds. Not bad. "Yes I have ... No, not one I would consider marrying right away, no ... Oh no, mum, I know it's serious. I'm not getting any younger after all and I'm seriously thinking about getting cats ... But I am serious. I had thought about rats first but they really don't live very long. Crows would be a good alternative. They live longer and you can domesticate them like parrots. And they're very smart too, you know. they can solve problems five-year-old children cannot … Oh really? So soon? Alright bye mom, love you too."

"Crows?"

Jemma turned towards where Daisy had been lounging on her office couch since coming back from lunch.

"Trying out something new to get her off my back."

Jemma sighed as she stretched out her arms and back, wincing at the loud cracking noises. She really didn't need more pressure than what she was going through at work. She'd thought that, once she'd moved across the Atlantic, her mother would worry less about her finding a boyfriend and getting married and more about well, starting a new life halfway across the world. But somehow, it had made it even worse. Like making new friends wasn't nearly good enough and being single at the ripe old age of 28 was the most worrisome thing that could happen to her in a new country.

"Is it working?" Daisy asked as she extricated herself from the couch and came to sit on the chair on the other side of Jemma's desk.

"I guess we'll see how long it takes her to ask me again. The last record was three weeks so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for none of my cousins to get engaged or pregnant in the meantime."

"Yeah, that would only be decent of them," Daisy said chuckling before her face took on that expression that usually meant she had a supposedly genius but, most of the time, actually terrible idea about how to spend their Saturday night. Because, apparently, staying home to do yoga, catch up on a book and watch documentaries wasn't acceptable and "not how you met people". Maybe she should introduce her to her mother, they'd get along just fine. Although to be fair, Daisy's goal was usually simpler and more realistic than finding a husband.

"Well, you could try something else. Other than just actually finding your soulmate, I mean."

Jemma raised her eyebrows. She was now almost a hundred percent positive it would be a terrible idea but she was still curious and even if it wasn't helpful, it would be amusing, which was more than she could say about the last conversations she'd had with her mother.

"Okay, I'm listening."

"Well that's easy, you just need to find yourself the worst possible boyfriend ever."

"Wow, that's tempting!"

Daisy rolled her eyes.

"I'm not done. Find a _fake_ awful boyfriend, obviously, and introduce him to your mom. Let it slide that you gave him a chance because of her insistence and then tell her that he cheated on you or- Oh! Even better, have him break up with you in front of her. She'll feel guilty, but like she dodged a bullet and she should be off your back for a little while at least…"

"Daisy," Jemma let out, rolling her eyes. "No one ever really does the whole fake boyfriend thing in real life. And you say I watch too much TV!"

"Oh come on, give it a try. I know a lot of guys who would do it for a couple of free meals. Remember that guy Jason from the bar?"

Jemma scrunched up her nose in disgust and Daisy grinned.

"See? I mean, thinking you could have children with such an idiot, it's bound to make her reconsider the supposed urgency of your situation, right?"

"Ah, I don't know Daisy… She's so obsessed with the whole thing, she might still approve of him with the prospect of me in a white dress or a big belly."

"Well then he breaks up and she'll feel guilty about it at least."

"No, I mean that's an interesting idea but I wouldn't feel comfortable with a complete stranger. I'm a terrible liar and I--"

"Well you just take the time to get to know him before, get all the preparation you need."

"But is it really worth it just to get my mum off my..."

Jemma trailed off as _he_ walked by her office with his ridiculous curls and shirt sleeves obnoxiously rolled up. Fitz had started working here six months ago and had been a pain in the arse ever since. Which shouldn't have been a problem since she was biochem and he was engineering but he had the very annoying habit of being the most competent person to consult when she was stuck on an engineering problem. Which had resulted in them spending way more time together than she would have ever wanted and her knowing way too much about him.

She knew all his annoying little habits, the disgusting things he ate that should make it impossible for him to look like he did and the distracting way he gestured his hands so much when he was angry or excited about something. She even knew about his mum and- Oh! Of course!

"Well that would work I guess!"

"What?"

Daisy turned around towards where Fitz was bent over picking up something from the floor. Ugh! He was so clumsy it was a miracle he was so good with his hands when working in the lab.

"What? Fitz?" Jemma nodded enthusiastically. The more she thought about it, the more perfect it seemed. "Well yeah, you should totally hit that if you feel like it but I thought we were--"

"Daisy, no!" she cut her off, horrified. "I meant as a fake boyfriend of course!"

Daisy turned back towards where Fitz was now stretching his arms behind his back -honestly, didn't he know he was right in front of her office- and looked back at her friend.

"Really? I mean I don't know him that much but he seems—"

"Very annoying I know!"

"That's not what I was—"

"I've worked with him several times so I know enough about him already and he is the absolute worst. Drove me nuts every time and I'm sure he'll do a perfect job of it with my mum as well."

She felt a little mean being this thrilled at the idea of her mom having to put up with Fitz for her sake but honestly, it didn't feel like that much compared to years of pressure about marriage and babies when she wasn't even 30 yet. Daisy didn't seem too convinced but she didn't know him like Jemma did. 

"But I thought he was a genius, doesn't that make him—"

"Yeah, yeah he is. Well… not as much as he thinks he is and that only makes him all the more pretentious and full of himself. I'm telling you Daisy, he's insufferable. He'll be perfect for the job!"

"Okayyy… So you're telling me that that guy over there with the big brains and the very nice… pants would make the perfect _awful_ boyfriend?"

"Yes!"

"So you really can't think of anything about him someone might find nice or agreeable?" Daisy insisted as she bent over the desk to look at Jemma's face more closely, making her roll her eyes all the way to the back of her head. Honestly, she was just picking a fake boyfriend, not her real future husband and if Jemma knew something about men, it was choosing the worst possible one every time.

"No! I told you Daisy, he's the actual worst, so logically the best for this specific job."

Daisy squinted at her once more, looking like she was about to ask more useless questions but then she sat back in her chair as a wide smile pulled her lips up. 

"You know what? Do it! Should be fun either way!"

"Great!" Jemma quipped, bolting up from her chair and walking towards the door. 

"Wait, you're doing it now?" 

"Well yeah, there's this small family gathering my mom hosts every year. It's next month, and I wasn't planning on going but if I can convince Fitz, it might be worth it this time!"

"What? So soon? But that'd mean you wouldn't have been together for very long…"

"Well I'm not getting any younger, Daisy!"

Not waiting for another argument from her friend, she picked up into a slight run to catch up with Fitz before he was back in his lab and they had all the engineering team witnessing their conversation. 

"Fitz!" she called once she managed to get closer and he turned around, looking surprised. "I need to talk to you about something!"

"I didn't touch your tea, this one's mine," he said, lifting the mug he was holding in his left hand to show her.

"No, it's not about that, I—"

"Oh good, cause it's totally yours, you know you shouldn't leave it in the common room if you don't want people to drink it." 

Aww, he was perfect. Her mum was going to hate him and it would be the best day ever.

-0-0-0-

"Okayyyy… but why me?" 

"Isn't it obvious? I already know you enough to be pretty sure you're not an axe murderer but I also know how incredibly irritating you can be and I trust you to drive my mother nuts and prove that maybe rushing this whole boyfriend, wedding and babies thing isn't such a good idea after all."

"Oh wow, stop it Simmons, you won't get anything out of me with flattery," he replied with exaggerated enthusiasm and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh please, Fitz, like I'd lower myself to this."

"So why would I do it? Because believe it or not I _have_ better things to do than being someone's terrible fake boyfriend for the weekend." 

"Well, unless it's being someone's terrible real boyfriend, I think I have an honest proposition for you." 

He glared at her but sat back in his chair and threaded his fingers in his hair, somehow making it an even bigger mess, before sighing.

"I'm listening." 

Well, it was good to know he was single at least. Not that she cared either way but she wouldn't have been comfortable having a fake relationship with him, even for just one weekend, if he had an actual girlfriend. (Or boyfriend, but that was unlikely if the way he'd looked at her cleavage a few times when he thought she wasn't looking was anything to go by)

"Here's the deal. You come with me to that family thing, act as your own annoying self for the weekend, break up with me in front of everybody and then you can take a train to Glasgow to see your mother. You haven't seen her in a long time, yeah?" 

He nodded as he raised his eyebrows. She supposed he was surprised that in between all the bickering and nonsense, she'd managed to remember actual information about him. 

"So I can convince Coulson to give you at least a week off to have enough time to go home and I'll take care of the plane tickets. I might even get my mum to pay for them." He raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Don't underestimate how tired I am of the pressure she's putting on me." 

"Oh, I won't," he said chuckling. "And I won't underestimate you either. That's a pretty ambitious plot for revenge." 

"It's not revenge. Think of it more as a lesson." 

"Right."

"So? What do you think?"

"Okay." 

"Really? Just like that?" 

"Well, like you said, it's an honest proposition and it'd be nice to go home." 

She thought it would have taken a lot more convincing. Of course, her deal was honest but most of the ideas she bounced off him were brilliant and reasonable and yet, he couldn't help arguing about every single one of them to the point where she wanted to strangle him with his stupid novelty ties. 

"Oh. Hum. Thank you, then I guess I'll take care of it all and get back to you about—"

"Oh, of course I'll also have a list of demands that you need to agree on before I give you my definitive answer." 

Jemma sighed before plastering a too sweet smile on her face.

"Well look at you, already getting into character."


	2. Chapter 2

Oh, what was wrong with her? Again. Mrs Simmons was just showing them pictures of Simmons' cousin's new baby and, though it had not exactly been subtle or very nice to say that theirs would be much cuter, it was not a reason to leave the room like that with the pretense of a very obviously inexistant phone call. And it was probably true anyway that their child would be very cute, they were both objectively attractive. That kid would be a genius too and would probably solve equations before they could walk. 

Anyway, he thought it was probably safer to go after her before it all fell back on him somehow. He followed her out of the house and into the garden. The sun was down already but with all the lights coming from inside the house, it was bright enough to walk about. They'd arrived the previous night and had had a surprisingly nice, quiet dinner with her parents, but family had been arriving all day and there were now way too many people for Fitz to remember who everyone was, scattered around the house enjoying after dinner drinks and catching up on their lives. He would really need to have a talk with her about the definition of "small family gathering" at some point. He'd have to gather ten generations of dead ancestors to have so many family members in the same place.

He found her on the side of the house, sitting on a swing that had seen better days, looking quite miserable. 

"Everything alright?" he asked softly, as not to startle her.

"This is a disaster, Fitz!" she whined, not even looking up at him. 

"I don't know, I'm having a pretty good time."

"I know! You and everyone else. That's the problem. You were supposed to be awful." 

He shrugged.

"You told me to be myself, that's—"

"Exactly!" she cut him off as she stood up and started pacing. "Your usual annoying, insufferable self. Not the whole annoyingly, I don't know, charming… thing you're doing. I swear if I have to hear another person say how wonderful you are, I'm going to vomit."

Wow, only Jemma Simmons was able to make something actually quite nice sound like an insult.

"Well, that's charming. No wonder you had to hire a fake boyfriend." 

"Ugh see?" She said, waving her hand in his direction. "That's how you're supposed to be, snarky and snappy and grumpy and instead you're being a huge suck up." 

"A suck up? What are you, eight?" 

She glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"And I'm not a suck up, everyone's nice to me, I'm just trying to be polite. What did you want me to do? Insult your family?"

"Yes! Yes, that's exactly what I wanted you to do!" she cried out, poking at his chest. "Now it's like they love you more than their own child! My mum never spent so much time listening to me talk about one of my projects."

Oh, was that really what it was all about? She was jealous of him because he was acting like a decent human being?

"Well it's not my fault if I'm delightful! Maybe it's just you that's usually making me insufferable because you're a huge pain in my arse." 

"Ugh! You're just nice because my mum keeps feeding your ogre stomach AND your huge ego!"

"Well, maybe if you'd shared your bloody tea, I'd be nice to you too!"

"Oh, not the tea again! I told you a hundred times, I don't mind sharing at all, I just think it's more polite to ask before you take it and it's certainly very rude to rearrange a perfectly well organized tea box!" She poked at his chest once more, the last few words yelled directly at his face and anger flared out in his belly.

"It was in the common room, Simmons! And it's just tea for god's sake!" he said, yelling back at her. "And an alphabetical order makes just as much sense as caffeine content. Honestly, who cares about that?"

"I do!" she cried out before letting out a big sigh as her shoulders fell and she seemed to deflate. She suddenly looked so much smaller than she did a second ago. She turned and went back to sit on the swing.

She looked a little desperate and it made his heart clench despite the irritation still coursing through his veins.

"This is all for nothing," she let out in a whisper.

"Hey I did try calling you pet names," he said, his voice going back to something, not soft but at least neutral. "Pretty ridiculous, embarrassing ones I think, and I have more on my list if you want."

"Yes, and somehow they find it charming!" She sighed. "Well, time to try and salvage what's left of this wreckage. Let's just break up and make it ugly before they start loving you so much they'll blame me for it."

"Hey, I'm sorry everything didn't go as planned. If that doesn't get your mum off your back, I'll pay you back for the plane tickets, okay?"

She shook her head and rolled her eyes at him.

"I don't care about the bloody plane tickets, Fitz! Just break up with me so we can be done with it. Do you remember your lines?"

He sighed. He really couldn't do anything right with her.

"Yes, I remember those four stupid lines, Simmons!"

"And stop calling me Simmons, it's Jemma. You're supposed to be madly in love with me!"

"Then why am I about to break up with you?" 

"Oh… Just…" She took a deep breath and plastered a big fake smile on her face. "Let's get it over with, Fitz!"

-0-0-0-

"Yes Fitz, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" she said, loud enough for a few people to look at them.

He knew it was his cue to fake-break her heart in public and be the asshole she wanted him to be and, for his defense, he really was going to do it. The words were on the tip of his tongue. But when he looked around, he was only met with soft smiles and kind eyes from every one of her lovely family members who'd noticed something was going on. It was nice being surrounded by so many people when his whole family could fit in a medium sized car, several of them he wouldn't trust with the keys. And they'd all accepted him so easily, and had shown a real interest in him and his work.

Simmons glared at him, probably taking his hesitation for forgetfulness and it made his blood boil. She was being really unfair. He'd done exactly what she asked of him and she'd spent all day being mad at him. It wasn't his fault that she was the only one finding him so insufferable all the time. If she wanted someone who was considered universally awful, she should have hired an actor. Or maybe asked Milton. Or at least, not bloody tell him to be himself. It wasn't exactly nice being asked to be a fake horrible boyfriend to start with, especially since, even though he found her very annoying sometimes, he kind of liked their scientific bickering. Their conversations were always more stimulating than the ones he had with any other colleague. And he thought she enjoyed it a little as well.

"Fitz, sweetheart, did you want to tell me something?" she insisted, tilting her head to the side, now looking supremely exasperated. Like it was such a strange thing to hesitate to act like a monster in front of all those nice people, especially when uncle Rory was looking at him with an encouraging smile like...

Oh.

Well, if she really wanted him to be a pain in the arse...

He took her hand and she just had a second to give him a "finally" look before he sank to one knee. 

"What the," she started saying but he cut her off. 

"Jemma Simmons, will you marry me?"

His words were immediately followed by a concert of gasps and "oh" and "awww" and whispers of all sorts, which was why Fitz was probably the only one who noticed the surprised but mostly murderous look in her eyes. And remembering that she was a chemist and probably actually knew of several ways to kill him without leaving a single trace, maybe his little prank wasn't so funny after all. 

But then she did something even more terrifying. She took both his hands in hers and pulled him up, her expression having shifted to something rather convincingly happy. 

"Oh yes! Of course I will, Fitz," she said before throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight hug. 

"Look ecstatic and follow me," she whispered in his ear before pulling back and taking his hand to lead him out of the room. There were cheers and whistles and he thought he heard someone say she was too shy to kiss him in public, but soon enough they were upstairs in her room and out of earshot. 

"What the hell, Fitz?" she cried out, viciously poking his chest before she started pacing. "I thought you were a pain in the arse, but that's on a completely different level."

"Well yeah, that's what you said I was even though everyone disagreed. You told me to be myself and that would be completely out of character for me to break up with you in front of all your family."

"Oh my god," she let out, stopping in her tracks and gaping at him for a moment. "You are insane! If I wanted an actor to do this, I would have hired one! This is real life, Fitz. People do unexpected things all the time. Like propose when they're supposed to break up!"

Somehow she'd managed to say all those words in a very low tone while still sounding like she was yelling at him.

"Then why did you say yes?"

"Oh for god's sake, at the very least I thought you were smart… Didn't you understand the point of this whole thing at all? I couldn't say no because that would make me the villain here and my mum would be on my back even worse than usual. The whole point was to show that she shouldn't rush me or I'll end up with an arsehole. But now what she thinks is a wonderful man has proposed and I wouldn't hear the end of it if I said no, especially after acting so in love all day!"

Okay, he might have gone a little too far with his little prank and underestimated how much her mum was pressuring her. Surely, his own mother often asked if he met someone and said things like "I hope my back won't get bad enough that I can't carry my grandchildren when you finally give me some" but it was only once in a while and it didn't make him feel like approaching thirty was making him some kind of overripe peach.

He sighed as he looked back up at her, his expression less defensive and more shameful.

"Okay fine, I'm-I'm sorry. I'll think of something."

"It's understood that I will never marry you and you have to come out as the villain in this scenario."

"Like I wanted to marry you."

"Well, you shouldn't have asked me then!"

"You shouldn't have said yes!"

"I just told you why I had to and I'll have you know I'm a great catch and you'd be very lucky to be married to me."

"Sure, that's why you need a fake boyfriend."

"See, that's exactly the kind of very in character things I needed you to say in front of my mum," she said, bumping his shoulder on purpose as she walked past him.

"So what now?" 

"You think of something to tell my mum in the morning and I'm going to bed."

"What about me?"

She seemed to ignore him for a moment as she looked into the small cupboard next to her bed, and he was about to ask again when a pillow flew at his face. Followed by a blanket and sleeping bag.

Ah. Apparently he was sleeping on the floor tonight. Well, he supposed that was fair considering, but it certainly wasn't how he'd imagined his engagement night would go.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait but since this chapter is quite short, I wanted the next one to be written :) It should be up in a few days at the most, maybe even tomorrow :)

"Simmons? Simmons?"

She groaned.

"Simmons, are you awake?"

"Of course I am! How am I supposed to sleep when you keep making all that noise?" she hissed at him.

"My back hurts like hell on the floor, I'll walk like a grampa tomorrow."

She turned around and propped herself up on her forearms to look down at him. 

"Well they'll probably think I shagged you all night since we're supposed to be so in love we're getting engaged after dating for only one month."

He let out a surprised little noise at her words and that, at least, brought a pleased little smile to her face. 

But then he sat up and grabbed the closest bed post and started shaking it.

"What the--"

"If we're supposed to be shagging, we should probably make it more believable. Could you bang on the wall too?"

She swatted his hand away.

"Oh my god, what are you? Twelve? Stop that!"

"Ugh!" he let out as he turned back around, whining as he wiggled into the sleeping bag and then whining again after being still for less than ten seconds.

She sighed.

"Oh fine! Come up then."

"Oh no I wouldn't want you to think I have any kind of--"

"That's alright," she cut him off as she rolled to the side to give him room. "It's a large bed. It was tolerable last night. I'll survive one more night."

In fact, it might have been a little bit more than tolerable. Fitz was like a human radiator and he'd somehow managed to warm the whole bed without straying to her side, making it just the right amount of nice and cosy. He smelled awfully nice too, much nicer than he ever did before. She would deny it if anyone asked her of course, but she might have rolled over to his side while he was in the shower to enjoy it all. How someone could be so annoying while at the same time be some kind of prince charming was beyond her. Daisy was going to make so much fun of her after all the time Jemma had spent insisting Fitz would be perfect for the job and no one could possibly find a single positive thing about him.

"So I was thinking," he started, apparently no more decided to go to sleep once he was under the covers. "Since we're going to Las Vegas for the conference in a two months, we could--"

"I told you I will not marry you!"

"Rude. But actually, I was thinking we could just have our picture taken in front of a chapel with flowers and rings and whatnot, tell your parents we got married and, a month later, you can say that I broke up with you in however horrible way you wish."

Oh.

"But aren't you scared of what they'll think of you?"

He sat up and let out a wistful sigh. 

"Well, it's nice to be accepted into such a big family. That's a change for sure... But it's your family not mine, it's not like I'll ever see them again so…"

He sounded genuinely disappointed and Jemma felt bad for him. She only ever heard him talk about his mother and from what little he told her to sell the story of their relationship, apparently that was that. But there was little she could do about that, she wasn't going to marry him just so that he could remain friends with uncle Rory. But at least she could stop giving him such a hard time.

"Okay then, that's actually a decent plan."

"Alright. And hu... I guess you're not such a bad catch."

"Hu?"

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier, I was just being mean. You are indeed very smart and classically beautiful, and for someone who's so obsessed by rules and order, that was a pretty bold and funny prank to play on your parents."

"Hey, I'm not obsessed by rules, I just..." She trailed off. Was she really in bed with Leo Fitz while he complimented her about being classically beautiful? He sounded kind of shy too, which was almost... cute. 

"Thank you," she just said, nudging his leg with her foot and hearing him chuckle. 

"And I'm sorry I didn't follow the original plan."

"Ah that's alright. The new one is pretty good. And I was being a little unfair... I hu-I can see why my family would like you. You're funny in a sort of Scottish grumpy way and you're awfully patient with my dad's bird stories." (And if they had his eyes, she had to admit their kids would be awfully cute). " And well, you're a suck up, so that helps too!"

"Hey!" he cried out, nudging her foot under the covers. 

"What? Oh Mrs Simmons, those hors-d'oeuvre are to die for, and oh Mrs Simmons, I see where Jemma gets her brains from," she said with her best approximation of a Scottish accent. 

"I was being nice and polite. AND paying you a compliment!"

"You were supposed to be horrible."

"I suppose that's just not who I am," he said with a too sweet tone she was all too familiar with.

"Ugh! You're the worst!"

"Oh no, you are my sweet pumpkin pie."

Realizing that there was no winning a proper argument with a twelve-year-old, she blindly reached for one of the cushions on the ground and hit him with it. But his reaction was not what she'd expected.

"Oh I see. So you like it kinky and your parents know it! Want me to scream maybe to really sell it?"

"Ah no! Gross!" she cried out, hitting him again. 

"Oh yes! Hit me!"

"Stop that, they'll hear you!" she hissed at him.

"Then stop hitting me!"

She pouted and let the cushion fall back to the ground.

"Can't believe we're not even married yet and I want to divorce you already," she said after a minute and he snorted before he actually burst out laughing.

She didn't know what it was exactly, the absurdity of their situation or just the fact that she got to say something like that, but her exasperation for him turned into something different. It suddenly reminded her of the pitiless teasing going on between her and the only good friend she had back in uni and she found that she liked that. She tried to hide it for a moment but his laughter was infectious and she soon joined him. In fact they laughed so hard that it's only when her aunt sleeping in the next room banged on the wall that they finally stopped. 

Which, Jemma supposed, definitely finished selling their whole relationship.


	4. Chapter 4

The doors to her lab opened and Jemma knew who had just walked in without even having to turn around. The delicate smell of her favorite tea meant that it had to be Fitz. 

"Morning," he said and she smiled, a reaction she would have thought impossible a few weeks ago. But since they'd come back from the disastrous weekend at her parents, he'd been different. He had started stopping by her office once in a while to ask if she needed something since he was on his way to the break room. She knew he was just feeling guilty for not following the plan but it was still nice and, after two weeks, it had become a habit to bring her tea every morning around ten. She suspected it had to do with the fact that she told him he should help himself to some as well. He did prepare it perfectly and he was making a big effort to make things easier between them so he deserved it. 

"Good morning Fitz," she replied and stood up to meet him by the small table in the corner, which was the only place in the lab where she allowed food or beverages. This time, there was a chocolate chip muffin next to her mug and she raised a questioning eyebrow at him. 

"Your mum says you don't eat enough," he said, shrugging his shoulders as he started munching on the muffin he was holding in his hand. "And she's right too, you've been missing lunch a lot lately." 

"What? How did you notice that and- Wait, when did she even--"

"Yesterday."

"WHAT?" Jemma cried out and he shrugged again but he leaned against the table in an attempt at looking casual. How-how did you talk to my mum yesterday?" 

"She asked for my phone number to send me the picture she took of us in the garden. And now she still talks to me once in a while." 

"Oh my god, are you serious?" 

"Yeah," he said, his lips turning up into a small smile. "She sent me baby pictures too."

"No, she--"

"Made it my screensaver," he added taking his phone out of his pocket to look at it with an even bigger grin. "Gotta love those chubby little arms and I didn't know you had a birthmark right on your-- hey!"

Jemma quickly grabbed his phone and took a few steps back before looking at it and finding a picture of him and a person who seemed to be his mother. She had dark hair but she had the same stunning blue eyes. Ugh, that was so sweet of him to use this picture as his screensaver, and she was conflicted between being annoyed and wanting to coo.

He was grinning like a child when she looked up and she rolled her eyes before giving his phone back to him. 

"So... muffin? Should I be worried you've hidden a ring in it?" 

"Ah ah ah, hilarious Simmons."

"I know," she said, grinning as she ate a little piece of it. It was really good. Trust Fitz to know how to choose something sweet and a little unhealthy. "A few weeks ago, I would have expected poison so that's an improvement I guess."

"Well, don't rule out the possibility that I replaced some of the chocolate chips with raisins." 

"Good. I actually like raisins more than chocolate."

He gasped, actually gasped, at her words and she bit her lip not to smile too wide. It wasn't even true but after several tea breaks and a few more relaxed conversations, she'd started to find some of his traits, like being very dramatic about the smallest things, kind of amusing. Almost endearing sometimes.

"You're insane Simmons. Maybe you're more like your Uncle Jack than you want to admit."

"Oh! Take it back!" He shook his head. "Take it back or I'll give _him_ your number."

He rolled his eyes but still lifted his hands up in surrender.

"Fine. You're your own kind of crazy I guess."

"Awww. You too, sweetheart." 

He reached for her muffin but she grabbed it before he could and stuck out her tongue at him before taking a big bite out of it. Mmhh. Delicious melty, chocolaty goodness. 

"So, is there anything you told my mum that I should know about?" 

"She'd love to hear about your project whenever you have the time."

"Oh?"

"She was telling me you're not calling often enough so I told her how important your project was and that the rest of your team were idiots who couldn't help. She's very excited to hear about it so she will wait for your call."

Oh. She hadn't been expecting that from him. Or anyone else for that matter. The few actual boyfriends that were serious enough to meet her family had been all too happy of being the center of her mom's interest to take the time to talk her up even a little bit.

"Fitz! That's-that's very sweet of you."

He chuckled at her surprised tone but she could see his cheeks pinken as well. It was like he hadn't realized before that he was doing something nice for her. Of course, she could also argue that he was acting like a perfect boyfriend and that was the opposite of what she was trying to achieve. She would suspect him of doing it on purpose to annoy her but it felt sincere this time. Plus, she couldn't remember the last time her mother had asked her to talk about work specifically. Maybe she should keep Fitz a little longer after all. Just long enough to give her mom better habits. A few months tops.

"Well, everyone told you I was a delight," he replied, his expression going back to something more mischievous.

"I wouldn't go that far. You're just...maybe not the best choice for a terrible boyfriend after all." 

He rolled his eyes, almost as a reflex it seemed, but they shared a real smile too, which seemed to happen more often these days. They remained quiet for a moment as Jemma sipped her tea and Fitz gulped down the last of his with his last bite of muffin. 

"Well, I'll let you get back to work," he said just as she started speaking.

"By the way, while you're here, I could use your help with something."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, you were right earlier. Milton was supposed to do it but he--"

"He's a useless idiot?"

"Fitz!" she admonished, all while biting her lip not to smile. Which of course didn't fool him.

"Told you _he_ should have been your fake horrible boyfriend."

She chuckled and he followed when she got back to her computer, opening the design for the gun syringe mechanism she was desperately trying to adapt to the very promising veterinary anesthetic that was now in the last phase of testing. 

"He couldn't have been my fake horrible boyfriend, Fitz," she said, chancing a glance sideways and smiling inwardly as he frowned deeply. He was obviously quite vexed that she thought he was more terrible than Milton. Which was most definitely the case three weeks ago. But now, well... she could see some of his good qualities and thus the flaw in her original plan. "I would have been bored to death before I was even off the plane." 

"Ah ah, knew it!"

A child-like smile replaced his frown. She'd seen it on his face before, like when he was talking about his project to her family. Back then, she wanted to rip it off his face, now she found it annoyingly cute and contagious. 

"I knew you were having fun with me."

"I didn't say that. Although, I will say this for you, you can't be boring since you're just infuriating most of the time."

"Okay, but doesn’t being boring and incompetent make him quite infuriating as well? And thus a more terrible boyfriend? Not to mention the cabbage head situation."

"Fitz," she said, turning more fully towards him. "Are we working or trash talking our, admittedly very incompetent, co-workers?" 

"Can't we do both?" 

She laughed as she shook her head.

"Fine, you help me find a solution for this and I'll tell you which vegetable Milton actually looks like." 

"Sounds fair. So what's the problem? From what I've seen, your formula's close to perfection." 

She turned to him, expecting a sarcastic smile but he just had his eyebrows raised questioningly, waiting for her answer. 

"Ah uh... yes. The thing I have a problem with is fitting a big enough dose in the casing. And if I reduce the dosage, then it won't work fast enough and it might be dangerous to whoever might be using it."

"Ah. I see. Well, between our three PhDs, we should be able to solve that, shouldn't we?" 

-0-0-0-

"Time for lunch, bit— Oh hi, Fitz."

As always, Daisy walked into her lab without bothering to knock. Jemma sighed as she turned around. It was way too early to have lunch yet so what did she— Oh. It was actually almost one pm, which meant that Daisy must have been waiting for an hour already. 

"Oh sorry Daisy, we're finally making progress on that delivery mechanism and I didn't see the time."

"Oh, that's alright, don't worry about it," Daisy replied, looking weirdly not annoyed. She was even smiling actually. "Finish whatever you were doing, I'll wait over there." 

"Ah, the thing is, I could probably work on that all day. See, Fitz has just started designing a whole new delivery mechanism. It's really quite brilliant but it'll take days, maybe weeks, and I'm already behind schedule—"

"Ah, that's alright, you should go have lunch," Fitz cut her off. "Your mum will have my head if I make you miss lunch," he added, grinning as he stood up and stretched his arms and shoulders. He really did that a lot while working and she hadn't noticed how distracting it was until now. 

"Oh, now you're scared of her? And I thought you two were such good friends."

"She's very nice, doesn't mean she's not scary." 

Jemma raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

"I think you're what a lot of people would consider nice and you're still very scary."

"I am?" She asked, smiling, somehow much more flattered that he found her scary than nice.

"You told me you knew of at least ten ways to kill me without leaving a trace." 

Daisy snorted and Jemma started blushing. Maybe she had kind of lost her calm that time but it was nice to know she could be taken seriously.

"Ah hum no… well that's true but I wouldn't use it on you now." He raised his eyebrows. "Not when you've been so helpful with the delivery mechanism." 

"Oh really?" he said, dramatically putting his hand over his heart. "That's so nice of you Simmons!" 

She rolled her eyes and bumped his shoulder lightly as she stood up to go get her handbag and jacket. 

"Well, I'll come by tomorrow. I should have some time to help you with this."

"Oh wait, do you want to come with us for lunch, I'm sure Daisy wouldn't mind."

"Oh no, I wouldn't mind at all." 

She had that big amused, conspirator smile again and Jemma sighed discreetly as she knew all the things her friend was probably already imagining. She'd been impossible since Jemma came back from that disastrous weekend and told her Fitz had kind of proposed.

"Ah no, actually I really have to go back to what I was doing this morning, I need to launch the first round of simulations before leaving tonight."

"Oh, I think you've got good experience with simulating already, don't you Fitz?"

"Daisy!" they both cried out at the same time and she pretended to look chastised.

"Well, sorry I took so much of your time," Jemma said as she turned back to Fitz who was, again, stretching his arms.

"Oh no that was ni- that's a very interesting project, actually." 

"Yeah?" 

He nodded enthusiastically and she felt her cheeks heat up for some reason.

"Well, don't forget to eat then!"

He chuckled as he turned back around halfway through the door.

"You know that is physically impossible, right?" 

She grinned and he finally walked away.

"WHAT. WAS. THAT?" Daisy let out, having managed to wait a whole ten seconds after Fitz had left.

"What do you mean?" 

"Really?" Daisy replied, raising her eyebrows up to her hairline before affecting a ridiculous expression. "Oh Fitz, you're so brilliant and Oh Fitz, I would never kill you and Oh Fitz, I want to feed you all my french fries while I keep on nerd flirting with you all through lunch!"

"What? Are you out of your mind? First of all, I never said that, I was just being polite and second of all, I don't think telling someone you won't kill him qualifies as flirting, Daisy!"

"With you, it does and he was flirting back too. He loves it that you're scary, which means he totally wouldn't mind that you're always a top. Would probably like you to tie him up to—"

"Daisy! That is so inappropriate!"

"Oh come on, don't tell me you're not starting to see another option for him other than fake awful boyfriend!"

Jemma sighed as she sat back in her chair. Hopefully this conversation wouldn't take long but she was certainly not having it on her way to the cafeteria where they could cross paths with all their colleagues who would be too happy to spread rumors.

"Daisy, I already told you that you were right and Fitz probably wasn't my best option for that. And I don't know if he's still trying to make up for messing up but he's been really nice lately and working together has been much easier, I'll grant you that."

"And you're even sharing private jokes together now!"

"Ugh fine Daisy! When he's not still getting on my nerves, it's nice to have someone like him around who can follow my thought process and we do have a lot in common—"

"And he has very pretty eyes and very pretty—"

"What? No, that's- Well, yeah he does but that's not the point. What I mean is that, we—"

"You should bang and get married for real!"

"—could become real friends. Wait, what?"

"Ugh Jemma, you're hopeless!"

-0-0-0-

"Come closer, Fitz, we're not cousins, we're madly in love!" she said as she snaked her arm around his waist and pulled him flush against her side as she gave a big smile to the camera. He huffed but let his head fall lightly against hers as he smiled at the camera. She took a few shots before looking at them, grimacing and holding the phone up again. 

"Oh what now? I'm not smil— hey!"

He burst out laughing as she pinched and tickled his side and this time, when she looked at her phone, she seemed satisfied but still held the phone up once more before pressing a resounding kiss to his cheek and taking one more picture. 

"Well, you're certainly kissing me like we're cousins," he grumbled when she pulled back and she chuckled. 

Somehow in the past two months, his grumpiness had gone from annoying her at best to amusing her most of the time. And it wasn't the only thing that had changed. She now had no problem getting all handsy and affectionate with him and it wasn't even for show most of the time. Which was rather nice, he liked them being friends (were they friends? well, friendly at least) much better than when he spent half his lunch and tea breaks trying to avoid her. It just took some getting used to because having her all molded against his side, all flowery scents and soft curves, was distracting. 

"I'm not going to snog you for a picture I'm sending my mum, Fitz!" 

He raised his eyebrows in amusement and she got his meaning immediately.

"I'm not going to snog you, period," she added and he let out a sigh of mock disappointment. Not that the idea of kissing her was disagreeable. Quite the contrary, she was beautiful and had rather distracting full lips, especially with that darker shade of lipstick, but the kiss on the cheek had in fact made him blush more than enough, he didn't know how he'd react if she even just pecked his lips.

"Aww, look at these," she said, coming closer to show him the pictures on her phone. There was the one where she'd just tickled him and they both had huge smiles on their faces and then there was the one where she was kissing him. He had a softer smile, his cheeks were still a little pink from laughing and he was looking sideways at her. It looked like— "It almost looks like you like me on this one."

"I do like you!"

She raised her eyebrows up to her hairline and he realized what he'd just said. 

"I mean as f-f- colleagues, yeah colleagues who like uh... having tea breaks together and work together pretty well now and hu—"

"I can't believe you didn't hesitate to propose and you can't say we're friends."

He felt his cheeks heat up and her smile grew bigger.

"That's because the proposal wasn't real," he mumbled under his breath.

"Awww!" she let out as she looped her arm around his before he could move away from her.

"I'm just teasing, Fitz," she said almost directly into his ear. "I just like it when you blush. It's cute. Suits you. See?"

She showed him the picture of her kissing him again. "And you should wear blue more often too, brings out your eyes quite nicely."

"Oh so now, you notice my eyes?" he teased, happy to have an excuse to talk about anything other than him being cute when he blushed. He didn't know what to think of that, or more precisely what to think of her thinking that. Especially when she was so close to him. He's had a few good female friends but none had ever been so effortlessly affectionate and it was really sweet. Just, again, distracting. It was a good thing she didn't do it while they were in the lab or what had become their common project would never see the light of day. 

"Of course I do, they're pretty hard to miss," she replied matter of factly. 

Was he supposed to compliment her back? She had plenty of nice features to choose from but wouldn't it be inappropriate? Thankfully, the line moved before he had to make a decision. They both took their suitcases and took a few steps forward. Fitz had never seen such a queue just to check in at a hotel but it was apparently fully booked for the conference and there seemed to be some kind of problem with the clients the clerk had been taking care of for the past ten minutes. 

"Oh finally!" Fitz let out. "I feel like that flight lasted for days, I'm going to fall on the bed the moment I get into my room and not move until breakfast tomorrow."

She chuckled before stifling a yawn and letting her head fall on his shoulder. "I know! Oh I would kill for a bathtub. I'd have food delivered directly to the bathroom if I could." 

"Oh, right… that's even better than my idea. Dinner in the shower doesn't sound quite as nice though, does it?" 

"No," she replied, pouting quite adorably. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she sighed contentedly. He could get used to that.

"Maybe next year, the night night gun will be the star of the conference and we'll have better rooms." 

"I like the sound of that," she said, patting his chest lightly. "But we're still not calling it the night night gun."

"But—"

The line moved before he could present her with his excellent arguments one more time and they were finally in front of the clerk. 

"Fitz and Simmons for SHIELD Tech," Jemma said with the best smile she could muster considering how long they'd been waiting already.

"Oh I see here that you have two separate rooms," the clerk said, looking up at them with a frown. 

"Yes, that's right," Jemma replied. 

"Oh I'm sorry, I saw you earlier and you make such a sweet couple, I assumed—"

"Oh, no no," Fitz started but Jemma cut him off. 

"It's very new and hu… we're colleagues so we're trying to be discreet about it, you know," she said in a conspiratorial tone and Fitz had to fight not to roll his eyes. It was almost like she liked all this pretending. At the airport, she told everyone they were engaged and Fitz had felt embarrassed until they were offered nicer seats and a business class meal. After that, he'd actually had quite a lot of fun calling her the most ridiculous pet names every time the stewardess walked by.

"Oh, I see," the clerk said, grinning from ear to ear. "Well, in that case let me offer you the bridal suite, it's a very nice room and seldom used during these big conferences."

"Oh. Oh, that's nice but you don't have to do that. We can have our separate rooms, it's fine." 

Fitz was hesitating between being embarrassed for having to find an excuse for being a new couple not wanting to share a room and being amused to see how her little game had backfired on her. 

"Oh, but we can be very discreet, put two rooms on the bill so your boss won't know a thing."

"No really, you don't have to do that, we—"

"Actually, truth be told, you'd be doing me a favor," the clerk cut her off and Jemma's eyebrows raised questioningly. "There was a glitch in the system and these gentlemen's reservations have been lost and we have no other room available for the whole duration of the conference."

They both turned around to look at the two men waiting a few meters away. One was screaming on the phone at whoever had made his reservation and the other apparently trying to call every other hotel in the area and both of them were obviously not at all satisfied with the idea of sharing a room that would obviously only have one bed.

"These gentlemen work for the same company but they obviously don't… know each other as well as you do. It's a very nice room, you know, huge comfortable bed, fantastic panoramic view over the whole city and there's a very nice bathtub."

"Bathtub?" Jemma repeated and Fitz could almost see her eyes light up. 

"Yes," the man replied, his smile growing as he knew he'd just found the right argument for her. "A very nice one with all kinds of spa options. And suitable for two," he added, winking at Fitz who felt his neck start to heat up instantly. If he was going to share a room with Jemma, which started to seem inevitable now, he didn't need to have images of her naked, wet AND waiting for him put in his brain. 

"Breakfast will be served in your room for no extra charge and since you would be doing me a favor, dinner on the night of your choice at our five stars restaurant will be complimentary." 

Fitz perked up at that. He really didn't care for bathtubs or views he'd be too busy or tired to admire but nice food, now they were talking. 

After all, they were friends now and they'd already slept in her tiny childhood bed together without killing each other. And he actually liked spending time with her now so nothing bad could happen, right? He turned to look at her and she gave him a questioning look. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders so she nodded and turned back to the clerk. 

"Okay, we'll take it."


	5. Chapter 5

"Mornin'" was the first thing Jemma heard as she slowly came into consciousness. She had a short moment of panic and confusion until she remembered where she was. Rolling over, she finally found Fitz, far away on the other side, sitting against the headboard as he looked at his tablet. Christ, this bed was huge. Who decided that a young married couple needed that much space to sleep together? Or do what young married couples were supposed to do?

"Good morning," she replied as she lazily pulled herself up into a sitting position.

"Slept alright?"

"Oh yeah, this bed's fantastic. I'd buy one but it would take up half my flat."

Fitz laughed and his eyes sparkled in the soft early morning light. His hair was a mess but he still looked unfairly fresh and... pretty for someone who had to have recently woken up given the time.

"Right? It's so big I couldn't find you when I woke up. Didn't remember you coming to bed last night, thought you'd dissolved into your bath or something."

She chuckled. It was true that she had totally forgotten his presence during the night, which she found surprisingly disappointing. Oh, it was nice to have her own space of course, but she wouldn't have minded some of his warmth and lovely scent straying to her side a little bit more during the night.

"Ah yeah, you were already snoring when I got out of the bathroom."

"I don't snore," he protested petulantly.

"Yeah you do," she replied grinning. "And you were drooling too."

"What? No, I—"

"Like a little bulldog really, with the noises and— Hey!" She grabbed the pillow coming at her face and threw it back at him. "Keep your drool covered pillow on your side of the bed!"

"Wow, you really are eight," he said as he rolled his eyes and put the pillow back behind his back before returning to what he was reading on his tablet.

"You're one to talk!" 

Jemma smiled as she lazily stood up. Fitz had a tendency to bring out her more immature side and she loved it. It was nice that he helped her forget she was an adult with a lot of responsibilities sometimes. Especially when he was also the one making her adult problems a little simpler recently. At least in the lab. About her personal life, a few weeks ago, she would have said he made it more complicated. Now she wasn't quite sure what word to use. Stifling a yawn, she started her morning ritual. With the workload she had, especially since they'd started working together on a completely new delivery mechanism for her dendrotoxin, Jemma hadn't had the time to work out as much as she usually did so she tried to, at least, allow herself a few minutes of yoga every morning so that her back wouldn't hurt too much.

Just as she was finishing stretching her legs, Fitz made a funny noise before clearing his throat. When she turned around, he looked a bit weird, staring into space as his leg bounced under the covers. Ah poor thing, he was probably stressed out about his presentation. It was only a few hours away and his was one of the most anticipated, so it made sense that he was nervous. She sat on the side of the bed, facing him.

"Everything alright?" she asked.

"Ah yeah, yeah." He cleared his throat again. "I'm fine, you?" 

Jemma smiled. He was trying to put on a brave face but his cheeks were pink and his eyes a little wide. There would really be a big audience this year.

"Do you feel ready?"

"What? Oh. Uh, yes, sure."

"It's really good, you know. No reason to be worried." 

He finally seemed to perk up at that. 

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I was reading over your shoulder in the plane. Your drones are fantastic and I really like the Snow White joke. It's cute." 

He looked pleased at her words but still a little suspicious at the same time. Having spent quite a lot of time with him in the past few weeks, she'd noticed how he seemed to crave validation while still not quite believing he was worthy of it. Along with how he had acted around her family and the bits of information she'd gathered, she was starting to get a clearer picture of his childhood and it was terribly sad. And it made her even more forgiving of whatever unimportant flaw she might have reproached him for in the past.

She bumped his knee lightly through the covers.

"I don't ever hesitate to tell you when you're being annoying so believe me when I say you're brilliant."

He raised his eyebrows before his lips turned up into a big smile. 

"That's all I ever wanted from my future wife."

"Happy to oblige," she replied, laughing.

She knew he was joking and it was going to be a fake wedding but she couldn't help feeling a little thrill at being called someone's wife. It had a nice ring to it, especially with that softness in his voice she was slowly getting used to. But she completely blamed her mother for that. Her obsession with weddings must have gotten to Jemma's head. But at least, once she'd have fake married Fitz and he'd have fake-broken up with her, her mum would hopefully leave Jemma alone for a while. Then, they could remain very good friends and, at least, this whole complicated mess would result in two good things instead of one.

"About that. I was thinking, since we'll have a bit of free time this afternoon, we could take a look around to find a chapel."

"Ah yes, good idea. So we'll go after my presentation? Are you-are you coming to see it?" he asked, faux-casually, barely looking up from his tablet.

"Fitz! Of course, I'm coming! It'll be the best one this weekend," she said before bumping his knee again. "After mine obviously." 

"Right," he said, smiling crookedly. "Well, time to get ready then." 

He pushed the covers back and stood up and Jemma did her best not to stare. She really did. He'd asked her if it was alright if he slept in his underwear since he hadn't planned on sharing a bed and hadn't brought any pajamas. The bed was huge and she wasn't going to ask him to sleep in his jeans anyway so she couldn't see a reason to refuse. But she had assumed he was wearing some kind of shorts, not those boxer briefs that didn't leave much of his... assets to the imagination. She hid her smile behind a yawn but then he turned around and she didn't have to pretend. She just sat back and enjoyed the view for a whole five seconds before the bathroom door closed on his very perky arse.

Interesting. He definitely made her life more interesting.

-0-0-0-

Jemma was quite cross that, even though she had arrived at exactly the same time as Fitz, she couldn't find a seat in the first row and had to sit in the third one instead. But she was still mostly excited for him that so many people showed up. His drones were absolutely brilliant and he was so enthusiastic about it that she had no doubt his presentation would be a huge success. 

The lights changed, most of them turning to Fitz as he cleared his throat to test the mic. The voices in the room quieted down and everyone turned to him. His gaze seemed to be searching for something in the audience until it stopped on Jemma. She gave him a bright, reassuring smile and she felt something in her chest flutter when it looked like enough to relax him before he started talking.

Time flew by and before she realized it, the lights were changing again and everyone was applauding very enthusiastically. Fitz must have felt like a rockstar up there and if his huge, child-like smile was anything to go by, he'd loved it. There'd been plenty of questions during his presentation, some of them even flirtatious —which she found deeply unprofessional— and it was clear that, even though it was the first day, he would be one of the highlights of the conference. And he deserved it too. But despite all the, older, very respected peers that complimented him, the moment Fitz was off the stage, he made a beeline towards where she was waiting for him at the back of the room. 

"So what did you think?" he asked a little nervously.

She raised her eyebrows, wondering for a moment if he was just being smug and asking a rhetorical question but he was apparently serious. Despite his obvious success, it was her opinion that seemed to matter the most. Her heart melted a little. 

"Fitz!" she said, squeezing his shoulder affectionately. "It was fantastic! Like I told you it would be."

"Yeah?" 

"Of course. You know I wouldn't lie about this, right?"

"Yes," he said, his face relaxing into that soft, easy smile she'd come to appreciate more and more. "And thank you for coming, it was-it was nice having a friendly face in the audience. It really helped."

"Oh Fitz, of course, I wouldn't have missed it for— Oh!"

She was cut off as he pulled her into a quick hug, rubbing her back softly before letting go. He was blushing a little when he looked back at her and her heart melted completely this time.

She really felt like an idiot for not seeing him for what he really was and being blinded by the whole stupid tea stealing business for so long. Especially with what Daisy kept saying about him, she really should have realized sooner. Fitz was really smart -that she always knew- and a wonderful friend once you got to know him. But he was also incredibly charming, especially when he was talking about science, and it didn't seem completely human for his eyes to look so blue all the time. And now, she'd just learned he valued her scientific opinion more than anyone else's in a room full of great scientists. Fitz was in fact the worst possible choice of fake terrible boyfriend because he was in fact being the perfect boyfriend. And their relationship wasn't even real.

"So, hum, do you want to have lunch with me?" 

"What?!" 

"I mean, I'm famished and I thought you might be hungry too, and then we could go looking for a chapel like you said but..." He trailed off, looking unsure and Jemma rolled her eyes at herself. 

Oh great. Now that she'd realized what a wonderful boyfriend Fitz would be, she instantly mistook an innocent offer to get lunch for a date. 

"But if you have something better to do, I can go on my own. It's alright."

"Oh uh... no, lunch sounds nice..."

"Are you alright? You look a bit weird," he asked, looking more and more uneasy, and Jemma chastised herself as she tried her best to give him a reassuring smile.

"No, I'm fine, really and I'm quite hungry as well—"

"It was too much, wasn't it? Hugging you. You were just so nice but now I made you uncomfortable and—"

"Fitz, no!" she cut him off with her hand on his arm. "No,no, no, it was sweet, really and perfectly alright. Let's go have lunch, okay?" 

It was more than sweet in fact, it was a little awkward but very sincere and spontaneous and thus completely adorable. Actually, the more awkward he was acting, the more charming she found him. It made her want to hug him or kiss him and reassure him that his shows of affection were—

Oh.

Oh, god. She had a crush on him, didn’t she?

"Really?" he asked, looking up at her with his unfairly blue eyes and a soft smile.

"Really." 

Yep, she really did. 

-0-0-0-

"No, Fitz, I'm not being snobbish, I'm just saying that having been raised between Sheffield and London and just a three hour Eurostar ride from Paris, there'd be more romantic places for me to get married."

"Oh, I'm so sorry Paris is not good enough for you, princess!" Fitz replied grumpily and Jemma rolled her eyes as she stopped walking and turned to him.

"That's not what I'm saying, it's just that it's not exactly exotic for me!"

"So what? You'd rather go to Tahiti or-or the Seychelles or something?"

Jemma was about to huff again but then she remembered the poster she used to have above her bed as a teenager, of a beautiful beach she'd promised herself she'd visit some day.

"Actually, I've been dreaming of going to the Seychelles since I was thirteen so that'd be rather lovely, yes."

"Well. I was about to throw in a dinner at the Eiffel Tower restaurant," he said, crossing his arms over his chest as he turned away and started walking again. "But since it's not good enough for you, I guess I shouldn't bother—"

"Fitz," she cried out, catching his arm to stop him. "It's ridiculous! It's not even real Paris!" 

He turned around and a wide grin pulled at his lips. She huffed as she rolled her eyes. 

"I know," he said. "And I'm conflicted between being a little hurt that you still think I could take something so ridiculous so seriously, and pleased to know I can make you believe pretty much anything." 

Jemma glared at him. He was still so annoying sometimes and yet she still found him cute. Maybe she was the one being completely ridiculous at the moment.

"Oh, come on, I'll take you to the Seychelles if that's what you really want," he said, his tone still teasing as he rubbed her shoulder gently.

She rolled her eyes again.

"You mean you'll find a restaurant called The Seychelles?"

After lunch, they'd set out to find the perfect chapel and Jemma had been surprised to find that Fitz was quite picky when it came to the location of their fake wedding. Which had resulted in a much longer walk than what Jemma had planned and Fitz spending half the time making terrible puns about the places they went, like showing her how fast he could walk from Paris to Venice. She'd rolled her eyes a few times, on principle, but she had in fact found it amusing and unbearably cute. Fitz had never been to Las Vegas before and his child-like enthusiasm about everything was contagious. Jemma hadn't had that much fun in a long time, which really didn't help her little problem.

She was trying her best to remember the things she didn't like about him at first to try and convince herself she didn't really have a crush. That it was just continued exposition and would go away once they were back to not being together all the time. It was all too new and confusing, whether it was their friendship or these new arising feelings, and Fitz seemed like he was just barely getting used to being affectionate. She'd just have to make it through the weekend and then things would most likely cool down. They had to. But now that they got along so well, they didn't even fight anymore and when they bickered, she couldn't find him annoying for more than a minute before he was all charming and cute again.

"No actually, I would really take you there, you know," he replied, his tone soft and strangely serious. "I'm a romantic Jemma, I would sweep you off your feet before you know it." 

Her eyes went a little wide at his tender and —was that flirtatious?— expression. This all felt a little thrilling and very dangerous. Did he have any idea of what he was doing to her right now? He was suddenly standing so close she could even smell the wonderful scent she now associated with waking up in a fluffy, warm bed. 

"Okay, hu..." she trailed off, wondering if she should laugh it off, roll her eyes or just go for it and kiss him. Had his lips always been so nicely shaped? 

Apparently that was enough of an answer for him because his lips pulled up into an amused smile that lit up his whole face before he let out a small laugh. 

"Maybe next time then. For now, let's find something in Vegas, yeah?" 

"Yeah."

She shook her head and followed as he started walking again. She really had to get ahold of herself before it went out of control.

-0-0-0-

Turned out the "perfect" chapel was just around the corner. It was white and big enough not to be mistaken for anything else but still cute and tasteful with a lovely sort of gazebo outside that they could hopefully take pictures in front of without actually getting married. And it was a little off the main streets so they wouldn't risk stumbling upon someone they knew from the conference. Jemma had enough of Daisy sending texts every few hours asking if they got married already, she didn't need anyone spreading the rumor that they actually got married. They had decided that they could go back the last morning since they'd have a few hours to kill before grabbing their plane and Jemma had a lovely white dress for the occasion that she couldn't possibly wear while attending the conference. And they could still take plenty of other romantic pictures for Jemma's very demanding mother until then.

"So hum... do you want to go back or...?"

"Let's watch the sunset first? It's so nice," he said, nodding towards the cute little white bench behind them.

Jemma smiled and nodded. It really was a nice evening and they were in no rush to go back to the hotel. They sat next to each other and turned to look towards the horizon. At this angle, the sun was reflected in his eyes, somehow making them even bluer despite the various shades of red, pink and orange the sky was painted with. 

They remained silent for a moment as they contemplated the beauty of nature even here in the middle of the city. But as the sun went down, the wind became a little stronger and it made her shiver as it blew through the gauzy fabric of her blouse. Fitz turned to look at her.

"Getting cold?" 

"That's alright," she lied, shaking her head weakly but Fitz saw right through her and after just a second's hesitation, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his side. 

Jemma knew it would do nothing to help her inconvenient crush but it was too warm and tempting so she looped her arm around his waist and let her head fall on his shoulder. 

"Thank you," she said after a moment. And now, all she could think of was how nice it would be to fall asleep like that. Which, of course, wouldn't be such a problem if only they weren’t sharing a bed. 

"Anything for my future my wife," he replied and they both chuckled. "I feel bad enough giving you such a cheap wedding. You deserve better." 

Oh god, why, why, why did he have to be so bloody sweet all the time?

"That's nothing compared to the way you're going to break up with me," she teased. "It'll be brutal. You might have to change your phone number once my mum hears about it." 

Fitz didn't seem to react and as Jemma looked up, she was surprised not to find him laughing or even rolling his eyes but actually looking sad. Or angry, she wasn't sure. She'd decided that going for teasing was safer than focusing on him being awfully sweet and romantic but maybe he was taking her seriously and realizing what he'd gotten himself into. 

"I'm kidding you know, I'll make sure mum doesn't bother you, you won't—"

"That's alright," he cut her off, taking his arm off her and standing up. "I-I'm tired, I'm going back to the hotel."

His tone and expression were suddenly much colder and Jemma felt so horrible her throat clenched instantly. Whatever this moment they were having had been, she'd ruined it. And now, she was incredibly confused. She wasn't even supposed to let herself enjoy it so much but it physically hurt that it ended so abruptly. She had obviously hurt him and she didn't know why. If he understood what she said had been a joke, then what? Why the sudden change in mood? The only thing she knew for sure was that, whatever happened, she would hate for them to be at odds again.

"Fitz, is everything alright? Did I do something wrong? I was really kidding, you know..." 

"Yeah, no, it's fine, it's just been a stressful day, that's all," he replied, smiling weakly.

"Okay... Do you-do you hum... want to order room service for dinner? Make it a sleepover or something?" she proposed and he put his hands on his hips as he looked at her, just like he always did when he was trying to solve a tricky problem. 

Was she a tricky problem for him now?

"Unless you want to go to bed early, I can just grab my computer and go out to eat somewhere else..."

Fitz shook his head as his smile turned a little more sincere. 

"No. No, room service sounds nice." 

On the way back to the hotel, she had to stop herself from taking his arm to enjoy the wonderful warmth he'd shared earlier. The way he pulled away from her still stung and she didn't think she could take it if he rejected her. But that didn't stop her from stealing glances every few minutes as they walked in silence. Which also gave her ample opportunity to notice that he was doing the same, his eyes full of something she couldn't quite decipher. 

Perfect. 

They'd started out the day with a still new but already quite comfortable friendship and now, she was more confused than she had ever been about someone. But surely, sharing a bed for two more nights would make things _so_ much simpler.


	6. Chapter 6

Fitz woke up the next morning feeling rather confused. Things had been great the previous day. Jemma had been wonderfully supportive during and after his lecture and had made things so easy for him. After that, they'd spent the afternoon together, talking and visiting the city and it had been more than great actually. Fitz loved their new friendship a lot but there'd been a few looks and soft touches that had made his heart beat a little faster. Like when she had leaned into him so easily when they watched the sunset. 

But then, she had given him a harsh reminder that what they were doing was to trick her mother and would only be temporary. And it had stung more than it should have. Oh, he was now confident they'd remain good friends afterwards but he'd realized how badly he would miss being with her all the time. He would miss sleeping in the same bed and for her presence and delicate scent to be the first things he registered when he woke up in the morning. He didn't know what that meant, just that, apparently, Jemma didn't feel the same.

As he slowly regained consciousness though, the sun still barely over the horizon, he felt a warm weight against his back and her breath on his neck. Somehow, despite the impressive size of their bed, she'd rolled all the way over to his side and spooned him in her sleep. It felt soft and wonderful and in his still half asleep state, it would have been easy to reach for the hand resting on his waist or turn around and pull her to his chest instead but wherever this impulse came from, it was dangerous. 

After that tense little moment on the bench, they'd gone back to the hotel and it had felt a little uncomfortable for a moment. But then, she'd mentioned some of the lectures she wanted to attend and they fell into one of their conversations. It was just as nice as usual but he'd forced himself to keep his distance so he wouldn't start imagining things if she reacted warmly to it. But now this...

Thankfully, he didn't have to fight it much longer. Jemma stretched out in her sleep, making him curse under his breath as it pushed her breasts further against his back, but then she rolled over and settled back on the other side. 

Fitz sighed wistfully. He supposed he really should have known sharing a bed with Jemma wouldn't be quite as simple and innocent as a sleepover with a friend. Well, he wasn't going to sleep anymore and Jemma needed all the sleep she could get before her big presentation. He lifted the blanket and stood up, careful not to wake her up, and walked towards the bathroom. A nice, long, not too hot shower was exactly what he needed at the moment.

-0-0-0-

Fitz grinned as he ignored the glaring directed at him and sat in the best possible spot in the room. First row and a little bit to the left so that the lectern Jemma would be standing behind wasn't in the way of him seeing her properly. He crumbled the "reserved" paper he put there himself almost an hour ago and looked up as Jemma walked onto the stage. She looked a little nervous but her smile grew when she saw him there and his heart skipped a beat. He wished it'd stop doing that every time Jemma smiled or looked at him with the tiniest bit of warmth in her eyes but, apparently, his body had a mind of its own and wouldn't obey whenever she was concerned. He just wished he knew what to do about it.

"Good morning and thank you for coming in such a great number," she said, quickly glancing at Fitz, her eyes sparkling with mischief. He knew she'd be counting how many people had showed up just like he'd started doing. Competitiveness was one more thing they had in common. "Today, I will be talking to you about the very promising dendrotoxin I've been working on this past year."

Fitz thought he knew everything there was to know about her dendrotoxin but the hour still flew by. He knew his childlike excitement as he showed his new, very advanced, toys was often contagious but when she was on stage, Jemma just exuded professionalism. Her brilliant mind shone so bright through her every word it was almost blinding. Fitz also laughed several times, especially when Jemma managed to come up with very witty answers to incredibly stupid questions. She really was brilliant his Jemma. 

No, not his Jemma. His friend. Jemma. Blindingly smart, gorgeous, sweet, gentle Jemma but nothing more than his friend. 

Ugh, maybe he should have stuck to Simmons. Then he wouldn't think of her as if she was more and wondering how her name would sound like if he said it in other situations and—

The room erupted in applause and Fitz was thankfully pulled out from his confusing thoughts. His eyes returned to her and he joined everyone in applauding her as he stood up. She gave him a bright smile before saying a last word of goodbye and walking off the stage.

"So?" she asked as she joined him where he was waiting on the bench in the back of the room.

"Oh, I guess it was alright," he replied, faux-casually and she pouted exaggeratedly, forcing his lips to pull up into an amused smile. 

"Fine, it was more than alright. Fantastic even." Her cheeks took on an adorably pinkish tint. "And I'm sure the fact that 231 people showed up instead of 244 is only due to your lecture being so early." 

"Fitz!" she cried out, swatting his chest. "I can't believe you counted!"

She sat next to him and he huffed.

"Oh, like you didn't. I could see your eyes scanning the room."

To be fair, her eyes had also often landed on him during her presentation, like she was looking at him for reassurance or support. Exactly like he had done the previous day.

"Fine," she said, sighing before her lips turned up into a small smile. "Well, maybe next year we won't have to compete for the biggest audience."

"We won't?" he asked, a little confused.

"Well no... I was thinking, once it's done, your delivery mechanism will be worth being part of my presentation. Our presentation?" 

Fitz's heart did a little bounce in his chest. He really liked the sound of that.

"So you think you'll still tolerate working with me in a year?" he asked and her smile widened before she nudged his shoulder. 

"I think I'll even like it actually." He raised his eyebrows as he grinned at her. "You get used to working with smart, competent, although slightly childish people."

Fitz chuckled before nudging her shoulder back. 

"Yeah, you really do." 

Jemma flashed him a beautiful smile before sitting back, sighing contentedly. After it had been so awkward between them the previous night, it was nice going back to the comfortable familiarity that had developed between them these past weeks. And if he had to work a little harder to ignore the confusing feelings arising every time she was close, it was a small price to pay to keep her in his life. 

-0-0-0-

The other lectures were much more interesting on the second and last day. They happily bickered their way through lunch about Doctor Sigurdsson's theory on biofuels. And they'd just come to an agreement that theory was all nice and well but they'd love nothing more than seeing more experiments when they walked into Doctor Marten's lecture and found new theories to bicker about within five minutes. 

By the end of the fourth lecture, they had found their rhythm again, talking over each other and finishing each other's sentences. Their friendship was based on a common love of science to begin with and spending a whole day focusing on that was surely the best way to forget about all those inconvenient thoughts and feelings about other aspects of her. Except that he couldn't actually separate all the different aspects of her. In fact, they actually piled up to slowly erase the confusion he'd been feeling the past few days. He'd say he was pretty sure he had a crush on her now, except the word didn't actually feel strong enough to express what his real feelings were.

"Want to go out for a walk?" she asked, pulling him out of his reflections. 

The room they were in was completely empty, which meant that Fitz must have been staring into space much longer than he thought after the end of the last lecture. 

"Uh… sure," he replied tentatively and she laughed.

"Come on," she said, taking his arm to pull him up. "You really look like you need some fresh air." 

Sure. Fresh air was what he needed. _That_ would absolutely stop him from wondering again and again what could have happened if he'd been bold enough to turn around this morning before she rolled away from him. 

Still, after more than eight hours inside the conference center, it was nice to be out in the mildly fresh air of a warm autumn afternoon in Las Vegas. They walked aimlessly for a moment, both instinctively going towards the least busy streets until they found themselves in front of the chapel they'd decided on the previous day. It really was rather pretty despite being nothing like what he'd imagined if he ever got married. He'd always had this image in mind of a small church with stone walls on top of a windy hill overlooking a loch. He'd dreamed about it for the first time when he was still a child and he knew it was a ridiculously romantic notion but he'd held onto it all these years. There was the sound of sheep bleating in the background and he was always wearing a kilt. Even in his dreams, it seemed like he couldn't escape his mum's will. His future wife's white dress was flying into the wind as she walked towards him, making her look like an angel. But somehow, the girl who had turned into a woman as Fitz grew up and had always been faceless until now was starting to look more and more familiar. Wavy brown hair, hazel eyes, a bright mischievous smile...

Shaking his head to try and stop this train of thought, Fitz took a few more steps to lean against the side of the gazebo. 

"Something wrong?" Jemma asked as she took a few hesitant steps forward. 

She looked a little worried and uncomfortable and Fitz certainly didn't want to ruin the mood like he did the previous day, so he forced a big smile on his face. 

"No, just lost in thoughts I guess." 

She raised her eyebrows questioningly. 

"Designing an experiment on biofuels in my mind," he said and she smiled as she nodded knowingly then came to lean next to him. 

It wasn't even too much of a lie since that was what he'd been thinking about before his mind strayed to even more dangerous territory. 

"It really was fascinating, wasn't it?"

"Yeah..."

"Sometimes, I wish I had more freedom to decide the kind of projects I want to work on," she said, letting out a wistful sigh.

"Oh, don't worry you will one day."

"I will?" 

"Well yeah, you'll be head of your own lab in a few years. I'm thinking five years. Maybe less."

"What?" she cried out, her eyes widening as she turned more fully towards him. "What are you talking about?"

"I thought it was obvious," he replied, smiling at her confusion. It seemed evident to him but apparently not to her. "You're too smart and independant and... bold to have a boss telling you what to do for the rest of your career." 

"Fitz!" she said, almost cooing as a bright smile lit up her face. "Do you really mean it?" 

"Of course. And as head of my engineering company, I'll be the first one to ask you to consult on my projects." 

He wasn't quite as bold as she was but he would most likely get tired of working with so many idiots before she did. She laughed lightly before her expression turned terribly soft again. There was something else in her eyes but he couldn't quite say what it was. She didn't say anything for what felt like a really long time and he felt his cheeks start to heat up under her gaze. 

"What?" he finally asked.

"Nothing, just... have you always been so sweet?"

His cheeks felt even hotter suddenly. He didn't do well with compliments. Or was it... No, it couldn't possibly be flirting, could it?

"Well, mum always says I was a delightful little boy," he replied, deciding to make a joke of it. 

"Still are," she said, chuckling.

"Except for my tea stealing phase of course," he added and she nudged his shoulder.

"Well, thank you anyway. It's nice to know you still see me in your life five years into the future," she said, shifting closer and looping her arm around his.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." 

And it was true. Less than two months ago, she was the infuriating colleague he somehow couldn't quite stay away from for too long and now he couldn't imagine his life without her. Silence settled between them and when Fitz became too anxious to know what she could possibly think of his declaration, he turned to look at her just when she decided to step up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

At least, that's what he thought she had intended to do but instead her soft lips landed on the corner of his mouth. The sensation sent a thrill through him, all the way down to his toes and his hand moved to her hip almost of its own volition. It felt like her lips lingered a little longer than they should have but when she did pull back, his fingers tightened on the soft fabric of her blouse to keep her close a moment longer. Overwhelmed by her closeness and his feelings, he pressed a light kiss on her forehead, closing his eyes for a second as he got a whiff of the flowery scent of her shampoo. When he moved back, her eyes were wide and lips slightly parted as she looked up at him with that same expression she had earlier. She turned more fully towards him and it reminded him where his hand still was. 

"Oh, sorry, sorry, I didn't-I—" he said, pulling his hand away as he felt his cheeks heat up once more. Jemma closed her fingers around his before he could decide what to do with them and smiled at him.

"It's alright, really. Actually—"

"Oh my gosh, you two make such a cute couple!" 

They suddenly let go of each other's hand as they turned towards the older lady with a strong southern accent looking at them with a tender smile. 

"Oh, we're not—"

"Thank you, that's very sweet of you to say," Jemma cut him off, sounding sincerely flattered when all he felt was exasperation at the interruption. Fitz didn't want to imagine things but it really felt like they were having a moment there. 

"And a pretty accent to go with," the woman exclaimed, a delighted smile on her face and Fitz couldn't help but smile as well. Being Scottish, an English accent didn't sound special to him but he had to admit he'd gotten quite fond of her prim and proper accent anyway. "You two make quite a lovely sight with the sunset and everything. Do you want a picture together?" 

"Oh, hu…" Fitz started, his cheeks now so hot they had to be quite the shade of red but Jemma cut him off once more.

"Oh yes, that'd be lovely, thank you," she said, pulling her phone from her back pocket and giving it to the woman before winding her arm around his waist and letting her head fall on his shoulder. Fitz's lips pulled up into a dopey grin as he looked down at her, all cuddled up to him, before he regained control of himself and put one arm around her shoulder, pulling her even closer as he turned to smile for the camera. 

"Awww, that's one's a keeper, sweetheart," the woman said as she looked at the pictures she'd just taken before giving it back to Jemma with a not very subtle wink. Fitz tried to mumble something, some word of thank you to hide his confusion at the woman's words, and really the whole situation, but she wished them a nice stay in Las Vegas and was gone as quick as she'd come. 

They remained in each other's arms for a long time, neither of them looking at the other. Fitz couldn't tell why Jemma wasn't moving. Was she embarrassed, confused or maybe just incredibly comfortable? He certainly felt all those things and more. Maybe she could also hear how fast his heart was beating and wondering if that meant something or if she should call an ambulance. But then, almost like clockwork, when the sun started to fall below the horizon, there was a strong gust of wind and Jemma shivered. 

Fitz chuckled as he rubbed her arm to try and infuse some warmth into her. 

"Time to go back?" he whispered, afraid to break the moment once more. 

"Ah… yes, if you don't mind," she replied, though not moving at all. 

"Want to take advantage of the perks of our room and have a fancy dinner with me? To celebrate our success and the end of the conference?" he asked tentatively and she moved back slightly to look up at him, studying his face for a moment before smiling and nodding. 

"Yes, that sounds lovely." 

Then, after another moment of hesitation, she looped her arm around his and started walking. 

So they were doing that now.

Well, they were going to have dinner in a fancy, probably romantic place and she didn't seem to mind his wandering hands or accidental lip touching. Whatever was happening, he might as well embrace it.


	7. Chapter 7

"Oh no, that's too much," Jemma mumbled to herself as she looked into the bathroom mirror.

It was nothing scandalous. A black dress ending just above the knees and showing reasonable cleavage, but it was much more form fitting than what she would ever wear at work or during a conference. Oh no, it was going to look like she had dressed up for a date and make Fitz uncomfortable. And yes, sure he'd invited her to dinner at a very nice restaurant after they'd shared an accidental kiss and he held her in his arms but it was just that, an accidental kiss. And it was free dinner that came as a perk when they agreed to share a room as the fake couple they were.

But then again, the restaurant really was terribly fancy and she wouldn't stand out in such a dress and she had brought it for such a potential occasion. Not a date, just the opportunity of a work dinner where her simple slacks and nice blouse wouldn't be quite dressed up enough. But also, what if _it was_ a date? It wasn't like they were the best at communication.

Ugh! These questions had been turning around in her brain for the past twenty minutes and asking them one more time wasn't going to help. Did she even want him to have asked her out on a date? Would she have said yes if he asked her explicitly? Well, who was she trying to fool? Of course she'd have said yes. This whole dress situation would be much easier. Or not.

Oh! Maybe she could take a peek into the room, see how Fitz was dressed. If he wore a tie, that meant the dress was okay. If not, she could still change back into her slacks and nice blouse. Which would be disappointing but not embarrassing at least.

And then, she'd have the rest of the evening to keep wondering if this was a date or not.

Opening the door as discreetly as possible, she passed her head through and forgot why she was even doing it the moment she saw him sitting on the bed, all dressed up except for his shoes and socks. She already knew Fitz looked good in a suit but she wasn't prepared for him in _that_ suit. An all black one with a matching black tie. With his hair still wet and extra curly from the shower and his casual posture, he looked ridiculously handsome all while making the scene feel so domestic.

"Jemma?" he asked and her cheeks heated up when she realized she must have been staring for quite some time. "Did you need something?"

"Ah... hum... No, just-just letting out the steam."

"Alright," he replied, looking a little confused. "Are you ready? Reservation is in ten minutes."

"I just need a few more minutes," she replied with a quick smile before stepping back inside, leaving the door just slightly open. 

The dress was definitely staying and now she had to step up her makeup game.

-0-0-0-

Jemma had to bite her lip not to laugh as the waiter came with a platter of heart shaped hors d'oeuvre and a bottle of champagne and congratulated them on their wedding. It was the third person to do that in less than ten minutes and this time, Fitz had adopted Jemma's technique of just smiling, nodding and saying "thank you".

The waiter took their order and it looked like they were finally on their own, at least until their food was ready. Just like Jemma had expected, the restaurant was not only fancy but really quite romantic with the very soft, warm lights, the candles on the table and the dark red plush chairs. And if that wasn't enough, they'd been given a table in a very quiet corner of the restaurant. Which really didn't help Jemma solve the whole date or not date mystery. Fitz's eyes were sparkling dangerously in this light and his shy smile was just... Ugh! Jemma was bursting with so much nervous energy and building tension from the lasting silence that she was tempted to just simply ask him. 

"Champagne?" Fitz asked with a tentative smile, thankfully breaking the silence.

"Please!" Jemma replied and Fitz laughed as he shot her a knowing look. She might have sounded a little too enthusiastic but whatever this was, Fitz probably agreed that they could do with a little social lubricant to help them relax a bit.

Fitz handed Jemma her glass and lifted his.

"To our success," he said.

"To our success," she replied as she clicked her glass against his before drinking a few gulps of it. It was good. Just the right balance of sweet, sparkly and bitter. She felt better already.

"So about that," Jemma started. "I've been thinking about your drones a lot since your lecture."

"Oh no, are you turning into a groupie?" 

Jemma rolled her eyes as she swatted his hand.

"No, I actually have a few ideas to improve some of them, from a biochem point of view."

"Oh?" Fitz just said as he moved a little closer across the table and Jemma felt a warm... something in her chest. With other men, she might have waited for him to say that he was clearly interested in hearing her suggestions but not with Fitz. His big smile and obvious excitement about anything that concerned science was enough for Jemma to keep going. And she already knew from experience that her intelligence didn't make him feel threatened and, on the contrary, motivated him.

"Well, take Sneezy for instance, If you add another sensor in the back and have each one trained to pick only a certain type of chemical, you could really improve the speed with which it analyzes data and thus send back results more quickly, which would be especially useful in emergency situations."

"Ah yes, that'd be nice but there's no room for a second sensor. Or then I'll have to rethink the casing completely and it really is the best compromise in terms of weight, size and ability to fly I was able to—"

"Oh, there's actually a bit of room if you use a slightly smaller battery," she cut him off and he raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Like the one you showed me the other day. I mean longer lasting batteries are always best but I think, for this kind of device, a three days battery is already more than enough and you really did a good job miniaturizing it."

"Oh, yeah, I guess you're right but I'm still not sure it would all fit inside the casing, it's already pretty tight." 

"I think it would," Jemma replied, smiling proudly. "If I did the calculations correctly, with a bit of reorganization, you should be able to— What?" 

Fitz was smiling widely as if she'd said funny and she didn't understand what could possibly be funny about her sentence.

"You would organize your organs differently if you found a way to make it all more efficient, wouldn't you?"

"Hey! Are you making fun of my organization skills?" she said, pouting. 

"Of course, I don't! I love your organization skills, they've been very useful, very often," he replied and she smiled. Of course, they were useful. 

"Except when it comes to tea. Then, it just doesn't make any sense…"

"Ugh! You're the worst!" she said, swatting his hand, and he grabbed it before she could pull it back. His eyes were sparkling with mischief but his smile was soft as he brought her hand to his lips and quickly pressed a kiss to her knuckles before putting it back on the table. 

The gesture took her so much by surprise that, for a moment, she completely forgot what she'd been saying only a moment ago. He put his hand back on the table next to hers and she had to fight the impulse to touch him again. She could still feel the warmth of his skin on hers but it had been too short and she had a feeling his fingers would feel very nice intertwined with hers. 

"I was just teasing and actually, I think your idea's brilliant. As always. We could um… we could work on it together on Monday?" he offered, smile more shyly and somehow making her cheeks heat up even more. 

"Yes, that'd be nice," she said, giving in and moving her hand so that their pinkies touched just a little bit. Maybe she imagined it, but it felt like he also moved his hand a little closer.

-0-0-0-

When they got out of the restaurant three hours later, they gravitated towards each other without realizing it. They'd only had the two glasses of champagne so Jemma wasn't even supposed to be tipsy but she still felt delightfully tingly and strangely exhilarated so she didn't protest when Fitz wrapped his arm around her shoulders in a bout of unnecessary chivalry. In fact, she welcomed it gladly and wrapped her arm around his waist. As their conversation grew more and more passionate, there had been more and more small touches, some not voluntary, some very much so and Jemma ended the night feeling drunk anyway. Just not on alcohol but on Fitz, however awfully cheesy that sounded.

They continued their conversation about biofuels as they made their way through the hotel's corridors towards the elevator. For the past half hour, they'd been designing an experiment Jemma was already ninety-nine percent sure would give impressive results and her heart made a nice little flip in her chest every time Fitz mentioned their future collaboration on it once Jemma would be head of her own company. She had always thought that she didn't need anyone's approval to know her value and she still did but she hadn't anticipated that Fitz's faith in her abilities would have such an effect on her. His brilliant brain, his sweetness, his adorable awkwardness, everything about him really, was just so... stimulating.

They got to their room on the top floor and as Jemma got rid of her shoes as she made her way inside and Fitz did the same, they kind of lost balance, or if Jemma was being honest, she let herself lose balance, and they both ended up lying side by side on the bed next to each other.

"God, I'm exhausted," Jemma let out as she lazily turned her head to look at him.

"Me too," he replied before his lips pulled up into a soft smile. "It was a nice day though, and a really nice evening," he added, his slightly sleepy voice sending a little thrill down her spine.

"It really was," she replied, her voice barely more than a whisper as they shared a tender look.

"You know…" he said with a glint in his eyes. "It's tradition for the bride and groom not to sleep in the same bed the night before their wedding."

She didn't know where he was going with that but the look in his eyes was dangerous and Jemma just couldn't resist. She rolled over until she was on her side, supporting her head on her hand as she looked down at him.

"Well, you can sleep on the ground if you like," Jemma said, putting her hand on his arm and pretending to push him away.

He gave her an adorable puppy dog eyes look.

"But I'll hurt my back. What are people going to think if I walk like an old man tomorrow?"

"That we shagged like animals all night, of course."

"Jemma…" he let out, gasping.

There was surprise and amusement in his voice obviously but there was also something else. So close, she could see his chest rising and falling faster than it had a moment ago and his eyes were darker when he locked his gaze on her. He was calling her Jemma most of the time now and although it was a nice proof of their growing friendship, it also did _things_ to her now, especially when his accent was thick like that and his voice all soft and breathy. Her fingers tensed around his bicep and his lips parted slightly as his eyes widened. Oh well.

"After all, this is a bridal suite, aren't we supposed to…"

She trailed off as he looked down at her lips and the next second, they were crashing against each other.

Fitz let out a little noise, surprise or pleasure Jemma wasn't quite sure, before his arm wound around her waist as he pulled her half on top of him. This wasn't the gentle, romantic kind of kiss one expected at the end of a nice first date, if it had been that, but rather the passionate embrace of two people who had been waiting too long already. Maybe he reciprocated her feelings after all, Jemma thought, grinning internally as their lips continued to glide against each other more and more hungrily.

Moaning against his lips, Jemma let her hand slide up his chest and into his hair like she'd been tempted to do for longer than she cared to admit. It was just as soft and lovely as she'd imagined and Fitz trembled as he sighed in contentment. He tightened his hold on her as he pressed his tongue against her lips and she gladly parted them to deepen the kiss.

"Fitz," she mumbled before melting into it. It was more intense, exhilarating and hotter than any other kiss she could remember and she kind of wished she'd thought of doing this when they were wearing fewer clothes. She wanted to feel his skin, slide her hands under his shirt and have him do the same, feel how mad his nimble fingers could drive her. Oh well, for now the tie had to go, at least. She tried to scramble blindly for it but she didn't feel like she could break the kiss for even a second and probably ended up tightening the knot.

"Jemma!" he mumbled against her lips, voice all raspy and dripping with lust. "Are you trying to kill me-eeeee"

As she'd moved to try and find a better position, her knee had come to rub against the tent in his trousers. Fitz groaned and rolled them around until he was the one half over her. She giggled delightedly as he crashed his lips back to hers but then it was her turn to moan as his knee parted her thighs and rubbed against her just the right way. Her whole body arched into him. She forgot the tie -she was too tired for something so complicated anyway- and pushed his jacket off his shoulders instead.

He had to break the kiss eventually to take it off completely and his eyes met hers, somehow expressing both tenderness and lust. It filled her body with a different kind of warmth than the one he was eliciting with his touch and she had to bite her lip not to blurt out words that would surely come too soon. Instead, she pulled him back against her but this time his lips ended on her neck. He started pressing delicate butterfly kisses, moving down towards her shoulder and then following the line of her collarbone. She could feel him grin as her skin gradually covered in goosebumps. She would have found some kind of payback, likely involving less clothes for him, but it felt too nice and almost... relaxing.

She sighed softly as he darted his tongue out to lick a line along the edge of her neckline as his hand wandered up her side, his fingers fluttering as they barely brushed the side of her breast. Jemma's head fell backwards. She never wanted it to stop. She was floating on a cloud of pure bliss with only Fitz's warm body to anchor her to the ground. It was so nice in fact that it took her a moment to realize Fitz wasn't moving at all anymore.

"Time for sleep," he whispered, voice awfully soft against her skin.

"Hmmmh no," she protested. "More!"

He laughed before pressing a light kiss to her lips.

"You're falling asleep already."

She wanted to protest, wind her arms around him, turn them around and take his clothes off instead, but she didn't have the strength for that and it was true that she could barely keep her eyes open. 

"Okay then," she admitted before using what little remaining strength she had to push him on his back before snuggling to his side.

"Good night, fiancée," he said softly against her hair as he somehow managed to pull the covers on top of them.

"Good night to you too, fiancé."

Sleep claimed her quickly but not before she had the time to bask in his warmth and comforting scent for a wonderful moment. 

-0-0-0-

For the second time in two days, Fitz woke up with a warm weight against him. This time was much better than the last, except maybe not quite as comfortable as he had managed to rid himself of his tie and to untuck his shirt but he still wore his not quite comfortable suit pants. Jemma was now sleeping half on top of him with her hair everywhere and one arm flung across his chest. Which was adorable but meant that one of his arms felt completely dead. She was also still wearing her dress from the previous night. The way it hugged her figure had been impossibly sexy before but now it had ridden up to just under her bum and even though he was still quite sleepy, some parts of his body weren't and seemed in fact more than ready to pick up where they left off the previous night.

It had all been so strange in the best possible way that Fitz would have believed it to be a dream if they hadn't woken up all entwined. He'd invited her to a romantic dinner, not knowing himself if he was asking her out on a date or not. She'd accepted and they went out all dressed up, spent the night gazing into each other's eyes in a way that had his heart pounding in his chest the whole time and they'd come back to their shared room and shared bed still not having clarified what that evening had just been. And then the conversation had taken a surprising turn and before he could actually build up the courage to be clear about it and ask her out, they were crashing against each other, engaged in the most glorious snogging session he'd ever participated in.

Jemma wiggled a bit in her sleep, her knee moving up his leg dangerously.

"Oh fuck!" Fitz let out under his breath as it touched his groin.

He'd found the courage to stop her the previous night because he didn't want to have sex with her when she was half asleep and preferably not until they'd had at least a short conversation about their relationship. He valued their friendship very much and he was also pretty sure he was falling in love with her so he didn't want to start something if they weren't on the same page and risk messing it all up. And as ready as his body felt, waking her up with his erection pressed against her knee and horrible breath didn't seem like the best way to go.

So he tried to roll her around as delicately as he could before taking his arm from under her, hoping he'd at least have the time to take care of his little problem and freshen up a bit before she woke up. Then he could, maybe, order room service so that they could have a conversation and he could ask her out on an official date.

When Fitz got out of the bathroom, wearing clean clothes and feeling all fresh and hopeful, he could feel almost instantly that something was wrong. Jemma was awake and had traded her dress for her pyjamas, which made sense as it couldn't be comfortable after having slept in it, but what worried Fitz was her expression. He would have expected sleepy, hopefully happy or even shy or confused. There had to be many questions in her head as well. But he hadn't expected something quite so... neutral.

"Hey," he said tentatively as he took a few steps towards the bed, where she was seated while looking at her phone.

"Hey," she replied, putting her phone down as she looked up at him. "So, about last night, I was thinking--"

"Ah yes, I think we should talk about it and--"

"--we were a little drunk and tired."

"Oh."

A ton of bricks fell onto his head.

"It was a nice evening and there's this nice bed," she continued, looking at a point just over his shoulder rather than at his face. She had to know she was breaking his heart and couldn't look him in the eyes. He couldn't blame her, he knew he wouldn't have the courage to see her heart breaking the way his was at the moment. "... but we cannot let something like that happen again and compromise our friendship and professional relationship."

But it could also make it so much better if they were willing to take the risk. But it didn't look like she was or even wanted to. Well, he supposed he should be glad they still had a friendship at all.

"If that-if that's what you want then yes... I guess it's for the best," Fitz croaked, hoping she would mistake the lump in his throat for a case of morning dry throat. 

She gave him one of those stilted smiles he hadn't seen directed at him for a long time before she nodded and stood up.

"Yes, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?" she said with a weird cheery tone, not waiting for his answer as she made a beeline for the bathroom.

Fitz remained stunned for a long moment, wondering how badly he could have misinterpreted the signs. Had he really imagined the way she had looked at him the previous night? And he really didn't think she had been drunk at all, a little tipsy at the most. And could friends really cuddle and kiss like that if there was nothing more?

Well, apparently yes. Fitz sighed and rubbed his eyes to stop the tears threatening to fall before he finally started moving. Romantic breakfast in bed was out of the question now so he better pack his bag and get it over with. When this whole mess was over with, and they'd officially no longer be a couple, there would still hopefully be a friendship. 

-0-0-0-

When Jemma got out of the bathroom, Fitz was almost done packing his bags so she started packing hers. The silence was almost deafening in the room and she even wondered if Fitz could hear how fast her heart was beating every time their eyes met. She'd been glad for the safety the bathroom provided so that she could have a meltdown in there rather than in front of Fitz. Their previous day, and especially the evening, had been all kinds of wonderful and just when she thought it couldn't get better, they had kissed. It had been the most wonderful kiss (and more) ever and she thought it had finally answered the question of his feelings for her. Until he'd woken up and everything has fallen apart. With her bra digging into her back and her dress kind of twisted around her body, she'd woken up with the sunrise and couldn't really fall back asleep. But it was so nice to be in his arms and to feel him hold her so close in his sleep that she couldn't bring herself to get out of bed just yet. But then Fitz had woken up and, even though her eyes were closed and she was getting sleepy again, she could distinctly hear his "Oh fuck!" before he all but escaped the bed, and her, as quickly as he could. Clearly, waking up entwined hadn't pleased him as much as it had her if he couldn't even stay and face what they'd done the previous night.

After the nice moments they'd had that day, Jemma had been more and more convinced that he might return her feelings but maybe she'd just been seeing what she wanted and nothing more. Maybe he hadn't been flustered by their accidental kiss but more embarrassed and too nice to say anything when his friend was being too affectionate. She didn't think someone could get _that_ drunk over a few glasses of champagne but it wasn't like they knew each other long. She didn't know his alcohol tolerance. And well, how else could she interpret his reaction anyway? She knew a drunken mistake when she saw one. But her heart was broken enough and she didn't think she could handle having him tell her in so many words so she said it first. That way, at least, he'd think they were on the same page and they could salvage their friendship.

"Ready?" Fitz asked after she'd done a final round of the room to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything.

And now, he almost sounded sad. God, this was such a mess. She couldn't believe things had gone from being so nicely confusing to so horribly awkward in so little time. Well, they better get it over with with this whole charade and hope they'd manage to be comfortable around each other once again after a little time had passed. Now, they couldn't even look at each other without looking away in embarrassment, which was the last thing she'd expected when she laid out her white dress the previous night so it wouldn't be all wrinkled when she put it on in the morning. She hadn't expected him to pass out from so much beauty but a little blush to his cheeks, a smile or a compliment would have been nice. Just like she was frustrated for not being allowed to adjust his collar and tell him how handsome he was in that light grey suit.

She sighed quietly and plastered a neutral expression on her face again.

"Yes, we can go."

-0-0-0-

"So hum… do you think selfies are enough or shall we maybe ask someone to take a picture of us? I mean if we want to—"

"I can't do that," Jemma let out, her voice so low she was surprised he'd even heard her. Especially over the soundtrack the chapel was apparently playing during the day. The singing of birds and distant sound of a waterfall were a nice touch but weren't the sheep a little bit much?

"What? You can't even let some strangers believe we're a couple? I know you think last night was a drunken mistake but—"

"What? No! I just-I don't want a fake wedding at all I don't want a fake break-up."

"But… I don't understand. How are you going to get your mum off your back if I don't get to be the bad guy? Why go through all the trouble of finding a church and—"

"I don't care, Fitz," she cut him off. "I'll just tell her we broke up. She's the least of my concerns at the moment."

Maybe she was going mad or completely delusional but she could have sworn he'd spent half the trip to the chapel looking at her with sad heart eyes when he thought she wasn't looking. Whatever that meant or didn't mean, she was going to get things straight between them. Her ego had gotten in the way of a proper conversation and even if he probably didn't feel the same way, at least she wouldn't let more things go unsaid and make things even more complicated between them with these ridiculous shenanigans. Her relationship with Fitz had become much more important than getting her mum off her back a long time ago.

"I don't want for what happens in Vegas to stay in Vegas, Fitz."

"Jemma," he let out with a small gasp. His eyes were wide and it looked like he was about to cry. She didn't know if it was a good thing but she wasn't going to stop now.

"I don't want my parents to think you're the bad guy because you're not. Not at all. You're sweet and smart and handsome and all kinds of wonderful and I don't want to forget about last night or last afternoon or the way you looked at me and how that made me feel. And, I don't know how you feel but I-I don't want to ruin the possibility of … us by going through with our whole scheme."

"Then why did you say it was Vegas and the champagne and we should…" he trailed off, his voice shaky and sounding more and more like he was close to tears. She wanted so badly to hug him but she needed to hear what he had to say. "You sounded like you thought it was a mistake, Jemma."

"You ran away, Fitz!" she cried out, louder than she had intended before wincing and taking a step closer and lowering her voice. "You woke up and said "oh fuck" and bloody ran away! What was I supposed to think?"

"Oh god!" he sighed, closing his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose, his cheeks turning red very quickly. "It's so embarrassing, I didn’t run away I just… um…"

Oh. How could she not think of _that_?

"Wait!" Fitz said, looking back up at her. "So you think there's a possibility of us?"

There was a soft hopeful smile on his face now and she wanted to cry out of happiness and relief.

"I do," she replied, taking one more step closer. "Do _you_ think there's a possibility of us?"

He let out a little laugh before moving forward and taking her hands in his in a sweet way that melted her heart in her chest.

"I do."

Happiness surged inside her and she wound her arms around his neck before kissing him all messy and urgent as her whole body filled with nervous energy.

"Fitz, I-I... I'm so happy, I--," Jemma mumbled against his lips.

"Me too, this feels like a dream, I-I--" he cut her off, pressing another urgent kiss to her lips before moving back. "Jemma, I—"

"I love you," they said in synchrony, their eyes widening for a moment before their lips pulled up into big smiles and Fitz wound his arms around her waist to pull her closer and deepen the kiss.

It was just as wonderful as she remembered it. She couldn't believe either of them managed to believe something so perfect could have been a drunken mistake. They really were perfect for each other in every way.

"Congratulations!" someone said enthusiastically as they passed them and Jemma could feel Fitz smile into the kiss. He didn't try to protest this time and if anything, he just kissed her a little harder and held her a little tighter. They might not have gotten married but Jemma thought they deserved congratulations for having finally learned to communicate. 

After a moment, they finally broke the kiss, their foreheads still touching as their breathing started to slow down. Jemma was so giddy and filled with euphoric energy that she felt like she could burst any moment or fly away.

"So what now?" Fitz asked, voice still low and raspy, sending chills down Jemma's spine.

"I wish we would have had that conversation earlier and kept the keys to the room a little longer..."

"Jemma!"

"Oh like you haven't thought about it!"

That poor bridal suite had to feel like such a failure after no sex happened for three nights. Especially when they'd come so close.

"Oh so you think you're so irresistible that I couldn't keep my hands off you if we were—"

She cut him off with another kiss, enjoying the little whimper he let out and how he seemed to forget they were in public with his wandering hands.

"Yes," she finally answered against his lips.

"Okay, you're not wrong, I guess."

"So what can we do for the rest of the afternoon?"

"Want to get married?" he suggested casually and Jemma laughed.

"Maybe later."

"I'll hold you to that. You did say yes after all. In front of witnesses."

She smiled happily. If someone had told her that was where they would end up when Daisy first suggested that she find herself a fake boyfriend, she wouldn't have believed them. In retrospect, she probably should have because it seemed so obvious, but she knew she wouldn't have. Which was just as nice. Fitz had been a wonderful surprise from the moment they set foot into her parent's house.

"Want to have lunch in Venice before we go to the airport, then?"

Jemma rolled her eyes at his antics.

"You really do think yourself funny?"

"Picky aren't you? Fine. Rome then?"

"I hate you, you know that, right?"

"No, you don't, you actually love me very very—"

She cut him off with a kiss again, laughing against his lips as he tried to mumble something. She should have tried this way of shutting him up a long time ago.

"You know, it won't work every time, right?" he said, very unconvincingly against her lips.

"I think it will, actually-"

"Can I help you, young people?"

The strongly Scottish accented voice startled them and Jemma couldn't help grinning when she saw the man who had spoken the words. He looked about fifty with grey hair and a kindly face with bright blue eyes.

Give it to Fitz to find a chapel run by an older version of himself.

"Do you want to give a look inside, it's really gorgeous too. And if you're looking for something a wee more traditional, we have kilts for rent," he said, nodding towards the red one he was wearing. She surely wouldn't mind seeing Fitz in a kilt.

Jemma was about to answer and tell him the chapel did look very nice but it was still a little early for them when there was another one of those strong gust of wind that engulfed into the skirt of Jemma's dress and made it fly. It was a nice summer dress with a little lace along the neckline, cap sleeves and a light, ample cotton skirt that went down to her ankles. She laughed and squealed happily as she tried to push it down, feeling quite proud of herself for having the forethought of wearing a shorty underneath rather than something more revealing. But her laughter died down when she turned to Fitz and noticed his expression. Soft and full of love but with a strange sort of smile she couldn’t quite decipher.

"Jemma, do you believe in premonitory dreams?" he asked and she scrunched up her nose in confusion.

He laughed and cradled her cheek to kiss her once more. Ah, that was alright. Maybe, she didn’t need to understand everything he said immediately.


End file.
